The Government of Ghana in 2017 placed a ban on the operations of all small-scale mining firms, establishing an inter-ministerial committee and a taskforce to combat the menace.
This decision was taken as a way of improving the quality of rivers and other water-bodies that were polluted as a result of mining activities.
New Patriotic Party Parliamentary hopeful for Akwatia Constituency, Ernest Yaw Kumi has however shared that placing a ban on mining activities was not the best decision to take.
In an interview on the ‘Epa Hoa Daben’ show, he explained that the best decision to take to ensure safe mining practices was to educate and train the miners through well-planned policies.
“I believe that banning of mining is not the best decision to take. We have to faction out policies that will help our miners to work in line with best practices”.
He noted that the Government’s ban on mining activities adversely affected people in his constituency.
“My area is a mining community. Those who don’t live in our area do not understand the peculiar challenge we face.
People find themselves in certain occupations such as farming or fishing probably because they grew up in a community of farming or fishing. So we cannot leave the gold in the earth without taking any action. We have to unearth them but in a right way. So when the Government banned mining because of its devastating effects, it brought untold hunger and poverty in the community”, he said.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah
